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Rochford District Council
Rochford District Council
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Talking with Simon Smith, Chairman of Rochford District Council, 2011 to 2012 (27th May 2011)
Councillor Simon Smith is the new Chairman of Rochford District Council. He is also a teacher at Sweyne Park, Rayleigh! For those either in the teaching profession or with friends or family in the profession, you will know the pressures that are so often on teachers, and may wonder how someone in Simon’s position could possibly hold down this new role. We pressed him on this several times and I hope, as you read this interview, you will see we have nothing to worry about!
Simon offered to be photographed in his chain of office but we requested, while not wanting in any way to diminish the office, to have him in his ‘normal working clothes’ (his suit) just as he was. Here was a man, we felt, an ordinary man, a teacher no less, who has given himself to serving the community. We hope you will find this interview as both interesting and rewarding as we did. Happy reading!
Rochford Life: You have been a District Councillor, I believe, since the year 2000?
Simon: That’s right. Prior to that I think I did two years on Rayleigh Town Council. That was where I first got involved. There is a history of political involvement in the family. My home town was in Cheshire and my dad was involved in local politics from about the mid 1960’s to the early ‘80’s. Initially I was involved in delivering leaflets for him and doing other little bits and pieces for him around Election Day, so I had an idea of what it was about. When I moved down here with my work, I didn’t really do anything because I was too busy with teaching, but eventually felt I ought to get involved and not just have political discussions.
RL: So what happened?
Simon: Well, prior to an election there was some canvassing going on, and there was a knock on the door, and I expressed my convictions and my support for the candidate and was asked, “Have you thought of getting involved?” And then it started, and I attended a couple of political fund raisers and it was about that time that Rayleigh Town Council was being formed and I agreed to have a go.
RL: How did you get on?
Simon: Originally, as the Conservative group, we didn’t feel it needed to be political because although we have Town Councils or Parish Councils, it’s not really political and so I stood as an Independent and didn’t get in. Unfortunately the other candidates did stand as political representatives, but very shortly after that one of the local Councillors resigned and there was a by-election and so I stood as a Conservative and got in very easily. Later a District Council vacancy came up and I got that. I think it’s been three elections since then. I was originally in Lodge ward and then moved over to White House ward and it went from there.
RL: That is a bit of an understatement isn’t it? I observe that you have been chairman of at least four committees prior to now taking up the chairmanship of the Council, so you did well and truly throw yourself in.
Simon: Well, yes, but the conflict has always been with teaching. Teaching is fairly demanding and that’s always has to be the priority, and you are not doing justice to the children if your mind is elsewhere. That career has developed and evolved, but the Council is mainly evenings and weekends and that’s always been second for these past years. The particular committee that I have focused on, I think I have chaired it four or five times, has been the Planning Committee, and I think that the other members have liked the way that I have chaired those meetings.
RL: You learn a lot from that?
Simon: Yes, and that led on to the West Area Committee, because both Planning and West Area have quite a high attendance by the members of the public, Planning particularly because there can be quite a lot of emotion connected with it. Maybe there is something about the skills that I have evolved as a teacher that makes sure that everyone has their fair share of say and are properly heard, and that people can clearly see that the process is a fair one. If people do get a bit rowdy, I do seem to keep some reasonable order. Maybe that is some of the training that has put me in good stead for being Chairman of the Council. There were one or two quite lively planning meetings over time. I think the biggest attendance was over the Southend stadium a few years ago, because half of it is in Southend and half of it is in Rochford. I remember that the chamber was full and Southend United had turned up with a few players, and because there was not enough room inside, there was a crowd outside. Every time over the PA system someone said something they liked, you could hear this big cheer coming from outside. That was quite a nerve racking one, knowing that potentially there were a lot of people who might get upset if it went against them, but nevertheless that does happen from time to time.
RL: I note that you have shown an interest in the Airport?
Simon: The Airport is a very significant development for the District. It seems that most of the battles are now over and the Airport development is going ahead. There is so much potential for development with the rail station and the new terminal, the runway extension and the diverted road, and I think the figure is that on average jobs that are connected with the Airport are approximately 30 per cent better paid than the average wages nationally, because a lot of those jobs are very specialized and highly skilled and so there is a great opportunity for the area to develop.
RL: your designation in this school is, I believe, Learning Environment Leader?
Simon: I do try and keep the school and the council work separate. The role here has developed over time. I am a teacher with a timetable, with a number of time-tabled classes, and when a member of staff is off, I do cover their lessons as well. I also do some of the day to day management of the school, dealing with the contracts for building work, the cleaners, the caretakers and so on. They do a lot of maintenance work around the school. I also deal with outside hours use of the school, e.g. lettings, as well as doing a little on the budget as well.
RL: So having all of that, how do you also handle the role as Chairman of the Council?
Simon: Well, before I considered this role, when I was first approached by the members of the Council, I knew that there could be a potential conflict at times, so I had a word with the Chair of Governors and the Head. I told them this is what the role was, and what did they feel, and they were very supportive. oHowever However, the fact is that 80-90 percent of the activities of the Chairman are evening things and at weekends.
RL: What about clashes?
Simon: If there is an activity that overlaps with the school day then there are a couple of things that help mitigate that. For instance, if it is something where I have the opportunity to take children along, then I will do and there have been a couple of activities that I have taken pupils to as a reward and they have received huge amounts from it, so that’s been really good.
The other thing is that I can take the opportunity to have youth and achievements of young people as a theme, and regrettably there is often a lot of bad press out there about the activities of young people, which isn’t justified. It might be a very small minority that is getting the publicity, and if I can help people understand the breadth and depth of what goes on in schools and how hard people work and some of the achievements that have been gained, I think that is all for the greater good of education.
We are very, very lucky in this District because we have four secondary schools and they are all very good. I have an event coming up in July, a garden party at the back of ‘the Old House’ in Rochford and with significant people in the District. The choir from this school is going to show some of their talents and the catering course at King Edmund is going to be providing the food and a buffet, and so there are lots of ways that education can be integrated in the affairs of the District.
RL: So you’re actually aiding education.
Simon: Yes, because although I am not out of school much at all, quite a few of the activities, if I do have to go out of school, are connected with education anyway. For instance I recently went up to FitzWimarc secondary school in Rayleigh to present their Trident Gold Awards (work experience, community service and personal challenge).
Then the Council has run an environment competition and I am going to one of the primary schools to present awards there. It’s quite a good match between the two, but it’s not taking me out of school much at all and where it does, there is a benefit to education.
When there was the launch of the Essex Art Trail last week, I took a couple of children with me there, who had represented the school in other competitions. They had a great time looking at the art, and got their photos in a couple of publicity shots, which they quite enjoyed.
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To continue to the second part of this articles, please CLICK HERE
Councillor Simon Smith is the new Chairman of Rochford District Council. He is also a teacher at Sweyne Park, Rayleigh! For those either in the teaching profession or with friends or family in the profession, you will know the pressures that are so often on teachers, and may wonder how someone in Simon’s position could possibly hold down this new role. We pressed him on this several times and I hope, as you read this interview, you will see we have nothing to worry about!
Simon offered to be photographed in his chain of office but we requested, while not wanting in any way to diminish the office, to have him in his ‘normal working clothes’ (his suit) just as he was. Here was a man, we felt, an ordinary man, a teacher no less, who has given himself to serving the community. We hope you will find this interview as both interesting and rewarding as we did. Happy reading!
Rochford Life: You have been a District Councillor, I believe, since the year 2000?
Simon: That’s right. Prior to that I think I did two years on Rayleigh Town Council. That was where I first got involved. There is a history of political involvement in the family. My home town was in Cheshire and my dad was involved in local politics from about the mid 1960’s to the early ‘80’s. Initially I was involved in delivering leaflets for him and doing other little bits and pieces for him around Election Day, so I had an idea of what it was about. When I moved down here with my work, I didn’t really do anything because I was too busy with teaching, but eventually felt I ought to get involved and not just have political discussions.
RL: So what happened?
Simon: Well, prior to an election there was some canvassing going on, and there was a knock on the door, and I expressed my convictions and my support for the candidate and was asked, “Have you thought of getting involved?” And then it started, and I attended a couple of political fund raisers and it was about that time that Rayleigh Town Council was being formed and I agreed to have a go.
RL: How did you get on?
Simon: Originally, as the Conservative group, we didn’t feel it needed to be political because although we have Town Councils or Parish Councils, it’s not really political and so I stood as an Independent and didn’t get in. Unfortunately the other candidates did stand as political representatives, but very shortly after that one of the local Councillors resigned and there was a by-
RL: That is a bit of an understatement isn’t it? I observe that you have been chairman of at least four committees prior to now taking up the chairmanship of the Council, so you did well and truly throw yourself in.
Simon: Well, yes, but the conflict has always been with teaching. Teaching is fairly demanding and that’s always has to be the priority, and you are not doing justice to the children if your mind is elsewhere. That career has developed and evolved, but the Council is mainly evenings and weekends and that’s always been second for these past years. The particular committee that I have focused on, I think I have chaired it four or five times, has been the Planning Committee, and I think that the other members have liked the way that I have chaired those meetings.
RL: You learn a lot from that?
Simon: Yes, and that led on to the West Area Committee, because both Planning and West Area have quite a high attendance by the members of the public, Planning particularly because there can be quite a lot of emotion connected with it. Maybe there is something about the skills that I have evolved as a teacher that makes sure that everyone has their fair share of say and are properly heard, and that people can clearly see that the process is a fair one. If people do get a bit rowdy, I do seem to keep some reasonable order. Maybe that is some of the training that has put me in good stead for being Chairman of the Council. There were one or two quite lively planning meetings over time. I think the biggest attendance was over the Southend stadium a few years ago, because half of it is in Southend and half of it is in Rochford. I remember that the chamber was full and Southend United had turned up with a few players, and because there was not enough room inside, there was a crowd outside. Every time over the PA system someone said something they liked, you could hear this big cheer coming from outside. That was quite a nerve racking one, knowing that potentially there were a lot of people who might get upset if it went against them, but nevertheless that does happen from time to time.
RL: I note that you have shown an interest in the Airport?
Simon: The Airport is a very significant development for the District. It seems that most of the battles are now over and the Airport development is going ahead. There is so much potential for development with the rail station and the new terminal, the runway extension and the diverted road, and I think the figure is that on average jobs that are connected with the Airport are approximately 30 per cent better paid than the average wages nationally, because a lot of those jobs are very specialized and highly skilled and so there is a great opportunity for the area to develop.
RL: your designation in this school is, I believe, Learning Environment Leader?
Simon: I do try and keep the school and the council work separate. The role here has developed over time. I am a teacher with a timetable, with a number of time-
RL: So having all of that, how do you also handle the role as Chairman of the Council?
Simon: Well, before I considered this role, when I was first approached by the members of the Council, I knew that there could be a potential conflict at times, so I had a word with the Chair of Governors and the Head. I told them this is what the role was, and what did they feel, and they were very supportive. oHowever However, the fact is that 80-
RL: What about clashes?
Simon: If there is an activity that overlaps with the school day then there are a couple of things that help mitigate that. For instance, if it is something where I have the opportunity to take children along, then I will do and there have been a couple of activities that I have taken pupils to as a reward and they have received huge amounts from it, so that’s been really good.
The other thing is that I can take the opportunity to have youth and achievements of young people as a theme, and regrettably there is often a lot of bad press out there about the activities of young people, which isn’t justified. It might be a very small minority that is getting the publicity, and if I can help people understand the breadth and depth of what goes on in schools and how hard people work and some of the achievements that have been gained, I think that is all for the greater good of education.
We are very, very lucky in this District because we have four secondary schools and they are all very good. I have an event coming up in July, a garden party at the back of ‘the Old House’ in Rochford and with significant people in the District. The choir from this school is going to show some of their talents and the catering course at King Edmund is going to be providing the food and a buffet, and so there are lots of ways that education can be integrated in the affairs of the District.
RL: So you’re actually aiding education.
Simon: Yes, because although I am not out of school much at all, quite a few of the activities, if I do have to go out of school, are connected with education anyway. For instance I recently went up to FitzWimarc secondary school in Rayleigh to present their Trident Gold Awards (work experience, community service and personal challenge).
Then the Council has run an environment competition and I am going to one of the primary schools to present awards there. It’s quite a good match between the two, but it’s not taking me out of school much at all and where it does, there is a benefit to education.
When there was the launch of the Essex Art Trail last week, I took a couple of children with me there, who had represented the school in other competitions. They had a great time looking at the art, and got their photos in a couple of publicity shots, which they quite enjoyed.
To return to top of page, please CLICK HERE
To continue to the second part of this articles, please CLICK HERE
